A.CRE Consulting Podcast: Kyle Keene on His Journey from NYC to Greenville to Launch His CRE Shop
Welcome to the second episode of the A.CRE Consulting Podcast! In this episode, we’re thrilled to welcome back Kyle Keene, Founder and Principal of Keene Development Group. Kyle’s journey is one of vision, resilience, and groundbreaking achievements. With a decade of experience in New York City’s luxury real estate market, Kyle transitioned back to his hometown of Greenville, South Carolina, to launch his own development firm. Since we last spoke, Kyle has made incredible strides, overseeing 610,000 square feet of luxury residential and mixed-use projects, including the iconic McDaniel—a 30-unit limestone luxury condominium development. His story is a testament to the power of adaptation and innovation in a dynamic industry.
In this conversation, Kyle shares valuable lessons from his transition from NYC’s high-stakes development scene to building a thriving niche in Greenville. We delve into the challenges he faced with complex site work, the strategic risks he took in an emerging market, and how he’s scaling his firm with multiple ongoing projects. Whether it’s about leveraging big-city expertise in a smaller market, navigating the intricacies of construction management, or creating a new standard for luxury real estate in the Southeast, Kyle’s insights are sure to inspire. Join us as we explore the journey of a developer redefining the skyline of Greenville and beyond.
Kyle Keene, Michael, and Alex talk about Kyle’s Journey from NYC to Greenville to Launch His CRE Shop
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Episode Transcript
Kyle Keene – Founder & Principal of Keene Development Group
[00:00:10]
Michael Belasco:
All right. Welcome back to another episode of our yet to be named podcast for a CRE consulting and adventures in Siri today. I’m, I’m extremely excited. We have a, actually a returning guest. Um, from our previous podcast and we have Kyle Keene with us, the founder and principal of the Keene group.
And when we met with Kyle last time, he had just transitioned from a large shop doing construction management up in New York city, and he moved back to Greenville, South Carolina, where he’s from, uh, to get underway with his own projects. And he’s got a lot of exciting updates and it’s just cool. And we’ll, we’ll link to the previous. Um, podcast episode to hear, you know, where it began and all the things that happened then, and then we’ll, we’ll catch up today, um, with what Kyle’s been up to. So let me first, I’ll, I’ll, I’ll kick it off with a brief bio and overview of Kyle for those, Who haven’t heard the previous podcast and just sort of reintroduce him to our audience. So Kyle is the founder and principal of Keen Group. He oversees every aspect of Keen Group’s operations from site selection, acquisition, development, and investment interests. After a decade of experience in the construction and development industry in New York City, within the luxury condominium and multifamily rental, uh, with, with a Luxury condominium and multifamily rental focus. Kyle relocated to Greenville, South Carolina, and founded the King group. King group currently has three active ground up luxury residential and mixed use projects at various stages of the development life cycle, totaling approximately 610, 000 square feet. Three projects include the McDaniel, which is a 30 unit luxury condo development. Uh, it’s currently under construction and expected to be completed in Q3 of 2025. And the other two include a 44 unit townhome development and a branded hotel and condo development. All of these located in Greenville, South Carolina. And as mentioned before, Kyle’s a Greenville, South Carolina native and a graduate of the Synodale in Charleston, South Carolina. Kyle, anything you want to add to that or, uh,
[00:02:19]
Kyle Keene:
You nailed it there and, uh, and thanks for having me back. Um,
[00:02:23]
Michael Belasco:
It’s, uh, you know, really excited to have you back. I’d love to dive right into it. You know, um, we had a lot of really great lessons learned as you transitioned. From, you know, going from a large shop and, you know, the most challenging, prestigious, you name it, city in the country to now more of a, a niche, smaller city where you’re finding a lot of success.
And, you know, you, you, I believe last time we talked, you were just getting underway with site work on what is the McDaniel. And, uh, why don’t you give us, maybe start with an update just on, you know, where we were back then and where you are now and kind of give us some highlights and we’ll, we’ll take it from there.
[00:03:09]
Kyle Keene:
Yeah, a absolutely. Um, and, and we’ve learned multiple lessons and, um, along the way to, to really where we are now, which since we’ve spoken last time, we’ve, we’ve gotten through site work, which was extremely challenging. I, I think I mentioned on the last episode I was on where, you know, this was a site where the, the topo was just.
Very extreme, um, just went from the street level straight down. So, uh, it was, it was definitely a difficult first one, uh, solo, and, um, so, since February 23, we’ve, uh, you know, we, we, we kicked site work off, um, we, we’re, we started framing, I mean, we’re vertical now, um, and, um, We’re, we’re soon to be vertical on all, I call them clusters or really the, the each building that, that holds four to five townhomes.
So, um, you know, we, we’ve really gotten aggressive on sales, which, uh, the units have really absorbed well. I mean, ahead of where we thought we would be on that end. But, uh, but yeah, I mean, it’s just been great. It’s it, you know, the negative and the positive, and it’s been more positive than negative, thankfully, but.
The negatives, you know, just through your day to day construction issues, um, you know, city relations and kind of navigating through that. So it’s, it’s, it’s been awesome to, to look back and, you know, refer to, uh, the, the things we’ve ran into and how we can take those on the next projects and avoid them or easily overcome them.
So it’s been, it’s been awesome.
[00:04:56]
Michael Belasco:
Excellent. So last time we talked, I believe we were talking about pulling a deal together and just getting your first one. And again, there was a ton of value in that. And just, you know, I think this project had, what was it? Six parcels and four different owners of, uh, of the land and pulling that all together. And there are lessons from back there. Now you have, you’re under construction, you’re alluding to it. I think what would be really beneficial for our audience is to hear some of the challenges you faced. And now what, what are these challenges you’re, you’re alluding to? And now when you go forward, you know, to look for. Um, love to love to hear more about that.
[00:05:33]
Kyle Keene:
Yeah, yeah. So, I mean, a lot of the key challenges are in the construction. I mean, the site is where really I knew going into it just with what I’ve experienced in the past, but I guess I’d say it’s less, it’s, I would say it, New York was just such a confined space. You know, the site is the site that is, there’s only so much, there’s not much acreage available, which in ways does, uh, I guess, I guess the risk is carried a little farther out in the vertical here.
It’s, I mean, I mean the 80 percent of your risk is in the site. Um, you know, borings can get you so far, but you’re not, you know, you’re not covering the entire mass of the site. So, uh, we ran into, um, I’d say probably your typical challenges in site work, but, um, definitely didn’t, uh, that, that doesn’t take away from the significance of the challenges.
I would say. Some of the main key challenges were, were all in site work, you know,
[00:06:40]
Alex Moroz Williams:
Okay.
[00:07:04]
Kyle Keene:
Right, right when we started site work, it was, I think it was a record year, um, in 23 of how much rain precipitation received in Greenville. So, um, That was a huge lesson and actually goes back to structuring the contract. Um, you know, general contractor, not in a negative way towards a contractor, but just accounting for that up front a little, a little more, um, instead of, I mean, in hindsight, you know, it’s, it’s always easier to talk about it, but we took averages and that’s kind of how we structured that in and going back, I’d probably add a little bit more of a buffer because you start looking at change orders in time.
Um, And we’ve got a great investor group who they, they really, um, you know, they’re seasoned and that they, they expected these, these little schedule hiccups, but I’d say that’s the biggest challenge. And then also just coordinating and navigating daily life in construction and overseeing that process has been, you know, not, not a challenge, but it’s different when you’re solo experiencing it and, you know, you’re the one making the bottom line decisions.
[00:08:21]
Michael Belasco:
Yeah. Um, you know, it’s interesting because you’re taking, you’re taking, you say you’re taking averages, you take calculated risks because you’re trying to balance your returns. And you also don’t want to go, you know, I’m thinking of this in, in terms of like when you get bids, right? And you’re looking at high cost, low cost and how you accept that.
We’re experiencing this now where, um, you know, we have a line item, uh, in our, in our budget and, you know, it’s probably all in, we had budgeted around 800, 000, which is where our high price came in. And a low cost has come in around 500, 000. Right. And we’ve entered, we’ve drilled and interviewed and you know, you’re getting some hiccups with that.
Right.
But you also know that there’s some opportunity there and we have, you know, guys on our team are very experienced with the process. They understand what’s going on. And so there’s almost a calculated risk. The high bid that came in, they’re the bells and whistles, right? You know, what you’re getting with them and there’s sort of this kind of management and then the unforeseen stuff, right?
Like record rain. And how does that play out in your budget? So I feel like with every line, especially the major line items, it’s. How do you balance that in your numbers? And then like, how do you get that in the expectation on the back end? Right? Like there’s a risk. The biggest risk is upfront. Right. And as construction goes on, it gets less and less riskier, but managing each of those individual risks, the best thing to do is be upfront.
And sometimes you just get into it. You can’t help with every line item, right? There’s
[00:09:53]
Kyle Keene:
Right.
[00:09:55]
Michael Belasco:
There’s always challenges.
[00:09:56]
Kyle Keene:
To your point, you know, it’s, it’s focusing on the light items and that that’s, I think that’s vital. Um, and, and we, we think we did that. I mean, we did a, a, a, a decent job here, but, um, you always got to remember, you know, we were, I was coming into a market that I, I didn’t know subs, um, in New York, you know, we, we had subs that, you know, we knew we, we could really get behind when, when they came in.
We knew each other, familiar with each other. So that was another challenge going back to your first question was we didn’t know any of these subs, um, very comfortable with general contractor. Um, you know, I love that guy. And so we were really taking their experience. Um, and you know, that was all we had to grab onto, but.
Focusing on those, those key line items. I mean, great. You’re, you’re great in guys. And that is so huge going back now. I mean, that’s one of the biggest line items you could possibly do in an environment like Greenville. Um, you know, I’m, I’m going to be more inclined, which we were when we’re happy, but I’m always going to be more inclined now, you know, I’m going to look at that higher number and, you know, the bells and whistles are important, I think, uh, in that area and others.
So that’s. Kind of piggyback off what you were just saying really getting those key items.
[00:11:20]
Michael Belasco:
It’s really, and like, again, we’re on the front end now and, uh, we’re taking what we think are calculated, some calculated risks, some were just going high price cause they’re a known commodity and especially, and you hit it on the head is when you’re entering a new market for you, it’s your home, but not for built like this is your first. Rodeo when it comes to developing. So it’s, well, it’s your, you grew up or you were born there. You don’t know the processes and the people there. So how did you get, was it really just, you just leaned on your GC? I mean, is there any input or advice you’d give entering a new market and getting comfortable with, with the subs that are out there and
[00:11:58]
Kyle Keene:
Absolutely absolutely and yeah, I and ours it was really challenging because Going back to the first episode. It was like we were we’re trying to fill in a gap that we felt wasn’t here yet which means Maybe the general contractor’s not here yet. You know what I mean? It’s the, it’s a ripple effect, but so the general contractor we’re using, Aneo Builders, they’re uh, historically high, high, high end custom home builders here in Greenville.
And um, you know, just by good fortune when I came along, they were already, you know, they were, They identified, okay, we think there’s a hybrid mix here of custom home with the commercial scale. And so I think it’s, um, and this is what we did is really, you start at the general contractor level in my situation, entering the market, haven’t developed here, lived here, but I haven’t developed here.
We really took some time in selecting that general contractor. And, um, I wanted the quality. I wanted the history of attention to the detail. That’s. The only way these were going to work. And then the trust really had to be there because yes, we had to lean 100 percent on their recommendations, who they’ve worked with previously.
And yeah, we, we, we definitely took their recommendation as goal. Um, I think done a good job, but you know, the next one, you know, we’re going to feel more comfortable in, in looking at all the numbers and, uh, we’ll, we’ll definitely take the recommendation. We’re actually going to use them for the next one, but, um, we’re always going to trust the recommendation, but you know, we may get a little bit more comfortable and we’ve met a lot of people along the way and maybe we can bring in some people and say, Hey, why don’t you bid
[00:13:50]
Michael Belasco:
Yeah, so it’s, it’s really, it’s, it’s just getting in there and doing it again. There’s going to be some mistakes, but you’ll fix that. Like you’ll learn subs, you’ll kind of get a
[00:14:00]
Kyle Keene:
that’s
[00:14:01]
Michael Belasco:
familiarity. And as you keep going, you kind of. You kind of evolve.
[00:14:05]
Kyle Keene:
That’s right.
[00:14:07]
Michael Belasco:
So yeah, that’s, you know, so why don’t we, um, I’d love to talk. So you had this one deal you’re back now, you got these two other projects you’re working on. Um, talk to our audience and myself about like your growth, right? Because you’re, you’re a small shop, right? And so you have one deal and you’ve gotten it. It’s sort of like, you’ve given birth to this baby. There are now a lot more caretakers, you know, to use like sort of a. And then now you have a lot of caretakers, the subs, the GCs, other people, and it’s kind of freed you up and now you’re out, you’re able to look at more deals. You’re able to get a couple of things under contract, get a couple of things going, talk to us about that growth, not only like getting a project to stabilization, but then how do you grow?
How have you grown your, your nascent company to where it is now? So now you have three deals going. So give us a little walkthrough.
[00:14:58]
Kyle Keene:
Yeah, absolutely. So, um, like you said, um, you know, once you get to a certain stage, you’ve got more eyes on it and more care into it. Um, more helping hands, which frees you up. And, and it was really after we, after we did, you know, the previous episode, um, site work kicked off, uh, into full scale. And, uh, that June, um, we had already selected our marketing and sales, but that June is when we kicked off reservations.
Um, and then when we, we, that was really the point when we, when we got from reservations to okay, these are going to go into, uh, into pre sales, hard, hard contracts. We two to three months prior to that, we were looking, um, very specifically in an area of downtown Greenville, um, that was changing and calling around looking for another site and, uh, with the plans to.
You know, a year and a half down the road. That’d be a great starting point for us.
Um, and in conjunction with, with that search, um, we’re fortunate because we have Clemson University’s Master’s of Real Estate Development right across the street. And, um, my first hire, he, he was alumni of that. And so, um, you know, I, I told him, hey, call around, see if there’s anyone looking for an internship opportunity.
So we were able to get Uh, and then two interns in here, um, went over the summer and then right after he left, one came in from the master’s program. And so that helped us really scale even further and, um, while they
[00:16:43]
Michael Belasco:
Ringing endorsement for the Clemson program right there.
[00:16:46]
Kyle Keene:
That’s right. That’s right. And, um, I’m a, I’m a, I’m a Carolina fan and I even, I give them that endorsement, but, um, that, that really helped because they’ve got, um, you know, whether or not they’ve got the, the experience of, you know, being in an office, actually putting that into practice, they’re pretty far along the way.
I mean, they do a good job of preparing them. So, um, Um, you know, they were able to really be on, be on site, really hungry to learn, which really helps, uh, you know, they’re, they’re learning so quickly on site when you’re wanting that, that we’re, I was able to kind of go out further the search and, um, Just by chance, an agent called me and said, Hey, we got a really unique piece of land right beside a 3 billion development happening right now in Greenville, I mean, literally across the street.
So we’re able to, uh, get that under contract when a similar route with structuring the deal to the McDaniel deal. And. Um, we’re able to do a, you know, we, we got a, we got a, a decently, I, I would say, a, a extended, uh, contract phase, which gave us some breathing room and, and we basically rinse and repeated what we did at the McDaniel, and now that’s gearing up here in December to, to start site work.
And then, I mean, I, I would say three months later we got a, our general contractor at the McDaniel. Asked if we’d be interested in talking to a group who’s doing, um, a Kempton hotel with a condo component, um, integrated. And, uh, at that point, I don’t really, I believe I said I’d talk to them, but you know, maybe not right now, if there was some room to wait a little bit, we would definitely be interested.
But that led to the conversation and there was already a developer in place. It was more of a co development scenario. So. We felt that that was something we could do. You know, it’s, it’s, we’re always going to give it a hundred percent, but really a 50 percent helping hand there, it kind of changed the way we looked at it.
So it became definitely doable and more appealing to us. So we didn’t really, uh, get the, get the waiting time on that. We immediately hopped in with them. We liked the deal and it was more of. Kind of elevating where we were. And, um, yeah, that one’s, that one’s key geared up to start in Q1 early Q2. So
[00:19:22]
Michael Belasco:
That’s amazing. So let me, let me ask you this. How long was it? And I’m, I’m, I’m leading questions. I hope it
pans out. How long did it take you from launching keen to getting that first deal underway?
[00:19:36]
Kyle Keene:
Yeah.
[00:19:37]
Michael Belasco:
Long is that timeframe?
[00:19:38]
Kyle Keene:
Uh, mine was unique. I was very fortunate. Um, I mean, maybe, maybe if you mean launching it as going under contract, three months, probably.
[00:19:49]
Michael Belasco:
Wow.
Okay.
[00:19:51]
Kyle Keene:
I, it won’t
[00:19:51]
Michael Belasco:
Have all that and you had all the capital and everything in place at that time?
[00:19:55]
Kyle Keene:
Um, we had, we had some, some severe hiccups, so we did. And then that capital partner unfortunately passed away. And then we had to, had to go out and bring in, uh, we had to bring in more equity.
So we, we had every challenge you could possibly think of, um, for the first one. But, um, but yeah, basically we, we, uh, and, and I had already been out, you know, with no deal, but wanting to go ahead and kind of warm that up a bit. Hey, you know, here’s my experience. I’m looking for deals. Are you, you know, is this something that you’d be interested in?
So we, we definitely had multiple sources geared up and, um, willing, if we, if we could bring something of, uh, interest.
[00:20:40]
Michael Belasco:
Awesome. And then you had all that experience in New York prior, which was over a decade, I believe, right? You were in New York
[00:20:46]
Kyle Keene:
That’s right. That’s right.
[00:20:47]
Michael Belasco:
Yeah. So I think, all right, go ahead.
[00:20:49]
Kyle Keene:
That was, that was, uh, I’ve had people ask me and, and, and just talking with friends and everything. And really, I, I mean, that’s, that’s the key thing for me. I mean, I didn’t have money, so not that money. So you’ve got to let, you’ve got to have some kind of leverage on your end. And I think that that experience definitely was, was a key factor.
[00:21:11]
Michael Belasco:
Yeah. So I think, I think where I’m going with that is getting that first one is the hardest. Right. And it takes a long time and it’s just, you do one and it’s like, I don’t know that, like, you know, I don’t know what’s happening after this. Right. And I’m telling this from like my own experience too, where it’s like, you get that one done and then like the gates open, right. The opportunities come out, your GC showing up, right. The parcel across the street, there’s all these things that just start happening just because, but that one. Could take forever, or there’s just all of these challenges. And you’re kind of wondering, is this going to work or you’re at, there’s so much higher risk. And then all of a sudden, once you get through that first phase, you know, you went from one to now three, right? It’s almost an exponential growth because you establish your credibility, even when it’s not done yet. Right. People are seeing that you guys are out there, you guys are doing it. And, um, you know, you may be based on our conversations.
You said people aren’t really doing this type of product. You may be one of, if not the only game in town offering this right now. So maybe there’s a unique, something that makes you guys unique in your own market.
[00:22:21]
Kyle Keene:
Yeah, and we are right now. And, um, it’s, it is, it’s, it’s very unique and, um, uh, it’s, it’s definitely just completely separated us from, from what’s going on with other projects and everything like that, and the product being put out there, but, um, You’re 100 percent right. I mean, the first one is going to be a miserable process and land and landing that first first deal and three months is when we, you know, finalized it was, you know, I formed the LLC, I’ll say, a year prior and I was kind of searching and if this happened, I would do it, you know, and, and it’s just no after no after no.
And, and you got to keep going because you’re right. I worked right when that first one’s done. I mean, opportunities open, people are more willing. You’ve got credibility behind you.
[00:23:21]
Michael Belasco:
Yeah, right. I mean, God, I can’t tell you for, um, you know, some projects, you talk to like a hundred groups, it could be up to a hundred groups. They say, we love what you’re doing, but let’s see what the next one is.
Right.
And like, we’ll be around for the next, we just want to have you to get that one under your belt. And then, and then we’ll show up.
So talk to us. So the most exciting thing is really in my mind, you have a lot of exciting things going on, but the McDaniel, you know, 30 unit luxury condo, how much has been pre sold talk, give us a bit of a marketing spiel
[00:23:56]
Kyle Keene:
Yeah.
[00:23:56]
Michael Belasco:
like, give us, give us the glory now. And like, why this is such a great project. Why you’re so excited about it for a buyer. Right.
[00:24:04]
Kyle Keene:
Yeah. Yeah. And, and I will say that a part of it. It, it’s, it, this is, it is been, this is another learning experience is in, in New York. You know, you may have two, three would be stretching it. I’d say, uh, with, with your specif specifications on the finish level, typically you have one, you know, every unit that’s, these are the specs for countertops, hardwoods, et cetera.
Um, the market’s not like that here. So it, it was a challenge to, to, to, I mean. And in our real estate group, they really kind of took that and, and, and drove where they, we need to have four or five specifications here because people aren’t going to just buy a unit and rip everything out like New York and put what they want in there or keep it the same.
So, um, I’ll say that first, but yeah, no. So we’re doing a really unique product at the McDaniel. It’s, um, It’s limestone facade, um, Indiana limestone, which is something I really wanted to do because the location is downtown Greenville, but it’s a main corridor into downtown Greenville. Um, what was once on site was, were some homes that were now office and Some were vacant, some weren’t, but, um, what we wanted to do was really elevate it and especially with the first project, I wanted to, to separate myself into, you know, we’re going to bring this quality, this level of quality.
And, uh, the limestone was something that had been going on in New York, but it’s really taken off. It’s, it’s coming, it’s, it’s there in New York now as modern, you know, that’s the new, it’s like old is new, it’s coming back there. And. So I was in that mindset when I moved back and I wanted to do something like that.
And so, yeah, what we have is 30, um, townhomes, full limestone facades. Um, interiors are, um, very high end. Say I used a supplier that actually I’ve worked with in New York, um, with everything going on and, and New York at the time, at that time, it was just, it’s, it’s already coming back. But that, that, you know, he was more than happy to.
To come to a smaller market and, um, you know, be a supplier for us. And so we were able to really leverage that relationship, bring some finishes in that just aren’t here available in the market. And, um, the sizing is, is another aspect that differentiates the project. Um, our smallest unit is, uh, 3, 300 sellable square feet and our largest being 4,
[00:26:58]
Michael Belasco:
Wow.
[00:26:59]
Kyle Keene:
Um, And people love it. I mean, it, it, the people buying our majority I’ll say are the retirees or they’re about to retire. Um, they don’t, they say they want to downsize, but really what they mean by that is in maintenance, they don’t want to downsize in size of their living space. So we really accomplished that and we want to just totally go the, Totally different route than everyone else is doing.
So, um, yeah, so we started pre sales and before anything was built, I mean, we were 50%, anything went vertical, 50 percent sold, uh, or pre sold. And today we have, uh, we’ve got a 13. So these are phase. So phase two is, um, hasn’t started, uh, vertical construction or anything. We’re kind of holding off until we get to a certain, uh, point in phase one.
So phase one is 20 units and we’ve got 13 as of today, uh, pre sold.
[00:28:00]
Michael Belasco:
Wow. So nothing exists like this in the market.
[00:28:02]
Kyle Keene:
There’s nothing, there’s nothing
[00:28:04]
Michael Belasco:
And your price points probably haven’t existed yet in the market either. Is that true?
[00:28:08]
Kyle Keene:
That’s true that for, for something new inventory like this, it just doesn’t exist in the market. And. Which made comps very hard. I mean, extremely difficult and, um, I lost a little bit of a sleep, but I mean, we’re exceeding where we started on, on our initial pricing.
[00:28:26]
Michael Belasco:
This was like a category, I call it a category killer. It doesn’t exist. You have no comps and you have this bet that you’re making. That is, this doesn’t exist and it’s going to sell. . I don’t have the data that directly correlates, but I guess there’s a question, you know, it’s going to work, right? Something about it. This is like visionary stuff, by the way. I mean, some of it might not seem that way, but you’re doing something that’s never been done in a market where it hasn’t been proven. Um, you have anecdotal evidence, I guess a lot of New York City and California, and there’s a lot of money coming into the area that may like this product. I mean, how did you convince investors? How did you get comfortable? Did you need hard data? Was it like, look, this is going to sell it? Yes, a guy. I mean, how does somebody take something that hasn’t existed yet, get the money for it and bring it to existence? And then also, it seems like you’ve proven.
[00:29:25]
Kyle Keene:
Yeah.
[00:29:25]
Michael Belasco:
So how do you do that? How do
[00:29:27]
Kyle Keene:
Uh, yeah, that’s, that’s, I was going to say when you’re going through that, it’s like, now can I have your money? It’s like, well, who’s going to do that? But, um, I, I’ve that one of the large, I guess the, the main investor, he came in early, um, and he saw what I was doing. What I was pitching and he really believed it.
I mean, he, he completely stood behind me on it. Um, I mean, we put together early on with, with our best abilities, uh, the, the visualization of it, and it was working through the architect of all that. And that helped, but the data alone just wasn’t there, like you were mentioning. Um, so what we used really was data on, you know, moving trends, like who, who’s coming here.
I mean, it’s, the numbers are staggering of daily, uh, new residents entering Greenville and the markets are coming from, and this is what they’re used to seeing. I mean, this is actually more affordable than what they’re used to now. So, or in their previous, uh, city. So we knew it was there and just the, the new homes being built, the custom homes really was our data and the pain and suffering behind that process alone.
Um, Really was one of the convincing factors. Okay, I’m going to deliver
[00:31:02]
Alex Moroz Williams:
Yeah.
[00:31:09]
Kyle Keene:
We’re taking the the just lack of availability of land and this that and the other and bringing that to you So you don’t have to go through the pain of Um, finding the land, finding the broker, doing the or finding the general contractor, going through all that, having to worry about managing it yourself and just all that we’re, we’re going to take that pain on our ourselves and then we’re going to deliver it to you.
So, and at that scale, we’re able to really get the price to, to make this thing make sense to do full, you know, limestone facade, offer some things that you wouldn’t necessarily, it would just wouldn’t be possible on a single family custom home. So. That way, that was true. And they, they saw the investor group saw that and they got behind that.
And if I can fill a missing gap here that maybe wasn’t so obvious, uh, you know, people moving here from Chicago, New York, Texas, Florida, and they’re living in apartments right now because they can’t find land to build a dream home, but they, you know, they’re waiting for land. We can fill that gap and it’s there the market that that data was out there.
So that’s really what we leaned on and believe in.
[00:32:24]
Michael Belasco:
Awesome. And do you plan, are there other areas like Greenville that you, are you just solely going to focus in Greenville? Are you going to expand to other markets? Um, because that story plays out. In a lot of other locations as well.
[00:32:38]
Kyle Keene:
It does.
[00:32:39]
Michael Belasco:
So curious. I mean, you got your hands full in Greenville today, but curious about the big picture for you.
[00:32:44]
Kyle Keene:
No. Yeah. The big picture is, um, is to be regional. I mean, that, that’s absolutely the big picture. You know the same group we’re working with the co developer in the hotel deal here in Greenville We’re already talking about other properties they own One’s in Atlanta, you know, we’ve got some Charlotte things that we’re going to start working on Um, and we’ve been fortunate because both of those opportunities in the larger markets, but regional, um, land’s already controlled, uh, and we’re, they’re, they’ve been patient and they’re going to be patient until we close out some of these in Greenville.
But I do want to always have things happening in Greenville. This is where we are.
And, but yeah, we want to be regional. And to me, that means, you know, major markets in the Southeast, uh, Charlotte, Atlanta. Um, you know, everyone says Nashville, but you know, those markets, but we can’t forget Charleston. That’s a, that’s a huge one right now.
And, um, it fits what, what we do. There’s a four seasons coming to downtown, you know, Bill Gates is behind that. So there’s serious things happening just right three hours down the road from us. So. Right now, we’re gonna, we’re gonna finish out Greenville and then, um, and then that’s really when we want to make more of a regional play, but Greenville is our home.
We always want to have some focus on it.
[00:34:19]
Michael Belasco:
Awesome. Well, Kyle, we’re super excited for you. And, um, you know, I think, I think we’re about hitting time here. So I don’t know if there’s any, any closing words. We covered a lot, really excited about. All the projects you have going on. And we’re definitely, we’ll probably do this again in a year. Um, and just keep getting the updates sort of consider you as part of the crew here, where we kind of follow your trajectory, not only just to kind of give you a sound anymore, but there’s tons of value that you provide to everybody listening just because. We caught you at such a good time when you just started transitioning and you’re building What we all see in hopes come to fruition was this big successful real estate investment and development shop and it’s just great To catch up with you again and kind of see what you’re doing So any any parting words for those that are hoping you’re potentially following your footsteps, uh doesn’t need to be anything great but anything you
[00:35:14]
Kyle Keene:
No, no. And, and, and I mean, it’s like, no, I mean, the parting words are thanks for the opportunity of coming back on and, and keep doing what, what, what y’all are doing. Yeah, it’s, it’s a huge, I mean, Everyone needs help and reference. And I, I, I mean, I’m on the site constantly. I want to see what you guys are putting out.
You have, I mean, it’s a, it’s, it’s huge for everybody. I mean, people who are seasoned and people who are entering the market. So I appreciate that and keep doing it. It’s, it’s awesome.
[00:35:45]
Michael Belasco:
Awesome. Well, great. Well, we appreciate it kyle and um, you know, we’ll put a link to your You Your website, people can check you out. We’ll put some contact information if you’re okay. People can, if people want to reach out to you to pick your brain, I assume you’re open to
[00:35:58]
Kyle Keene:
You know, buy a unit, buy a unit.
[00:36:00]
Michael Belasco:
Yeah, there you go. There you go.
If you’re in Greenville, uh, definitely do it next time. Uh, well, next time, the first time I go down there, I’ll, uh, maybe we’ll do something on site together.
Um, but, but Kyle was great and thank you so much for coming back and, uh, we’ll, we’ll have you on again soon.
[00:36:16]
Kyle Keene:
Absolutely. Thanks for having me.
[00:36:18]
Michael Belasco:
Yeah, of course. And thanks to all our listeners listening and watching or however you’re taking this info in and we’ll see you guys on the next episode.
